It's Amazing, I'm Addicted

Hola!

It was a good week. We went up to another city to have a conference with the president! We ate really good as you can see and I got packages from my Dad and Matt and Mickie! (It was supposed to be for Christmas, guess he didn't wait) It made me so happy you don't even know! I'll try and remember the pictures I sent. One of them has a waterfall in the mountain and a river. Those are in a place called Chiflón! They are waterfalls really famous in Mexico and the water is really blue. You can rent cabins there and yeah it's sweet. We didn't go close this time but we did have a family near by that we taught. The guy delivers those sticks up north. The sticks when you peel them apart, you bite off a piece and chew it and its really really sweet but you don't eat it haha. Bad for your health but tasty to the mouth, can life get any better? I submit that it cannot! Also there is a fruit, it is called Granadia. It has a hard shell that you peal off but those seeds you swallow. It's really sweet but if you bite the seeds they are really sour haha. It's amazing, I'm addicted.

There is a picture of a guy that I am standing with. He is a member of the church named Brother Alfaro. He lives 1 1/2 hours outside of Comitan where I live and travels every single Sunday here to go to church. I have a hard time not wanting to break down when I see him because that is a huge sacrifice a lot of people don't make. It is a lot in travel fees and yet his faith is strong and unbreakable to the point where he would rather eat cheap and go to church than have other luxuries in life. To me, he is richer than anyone I will every meet. I think a lot about the sacrifices of Christ and I heard a really good analogy from another Elder yesterday. He said, "Imagine your birthday party. It's amazing, you invite friends and family, you eat amazing, and everyone is so happy. Then think if no one ever showed and think about how you would feel. Now imagine the sacrifice Christ made for the world and how he feels when we wont make the effort to go to church, to give a little time BACK to our Savior and our Father in Heaven and rejoice by showing our love for Him by taking the Sacrament. The greatest sacrifice, most supreme gift, and humble love Christ has for us is represented in the bread and water we take every Sunday." How amazing is that? I hope that as this Christmas falls on a Sunday, ALL will give what little we can to Him that gave us the world. I am so grateful for Brother Alfaro and his silent yet powerful example. 

I love you and I miss you. Thank you for everything you are doing for me, all of you. Smile! Help those who need it. Oren y lean y siempre sonrean.

Elder Braden M. Spence